Bail hearing for freed Canadian hostage set for next week

Reuters Staff

2 Min Read

OTTAWA (Reuters) - A Canadian court on Monday adjourned a bail hearing for former Taliban hostage Joshua Boyle, who was arrested late last month on criminal charges including assault, sexual assault and forcible confinement.

FILE PHOTO: Joshua Boyle speaks to the media after arriving with his wife and three children at Toronto Pearson International Airport, nearly 5 years after he and his wife were abducted in Afghanistan in 2012 by the Taliban-allied Haqqani network, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, October 13, 2017. REUTERS/Mark Blinch/File Photo

The charges are for crimes prosecutors said occurred in Canada after Boyle and his family returned to the country last October. Boyle and his wife Caitlan Coleman were kidnapped in October 2012 while backpacking in Afghanistan.

Boyle, 34, wearing an orange prison jumpsuit, appeared briefly by video link in an Ottawa court room on Monday. He is due to make his next appearance on Monday Jan. 15 at 0930 ET (1430 GMT).

When they returned to Canada with three children born in captivity, Boyle said a fourth child had been murdered and his spouse raped after their capture by the Taliban-allied Haqqani network. The Taliban denied the accusations of rape and murder.

The court has imposed a publication ban that prevents media from reporting on information that could identify any victims or witnesses. The ban also prohibits reporting on the details of the bail hearing.